Seven
by Mx4
Summary: What's this here? An Ultimate Spider-Man story! And in the Ultimate Marvel section no less! Fancy that. Too bad it's not really a story per se...yet. Curious? I certainly hope so. After all, that's what these blurbs are for. If not, well c'est la vie.


A/N: Nothing claimed, nothing owned. Get it, got it, good. And we're back with an entry so creatively titled; it only took one word to sum it up! It's going to be an ongoing…thingy…in the Ultimate Spider-Man series, and the very first shot is gonna be a look into the heart. What else really? Thanks however are due to Arcanoffood and for favoriting a previous effort at USM story-telling and Ultimate Hybrid for being the first (and as of this writing, only) reviewer for said one-shot. But anyway, you're not here to hear me babble about me I would hope, so let's get it on!

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1. The first girl Peter Parker can ever remember loving is a red-head with a zest for life and a very teasing sense of humor whenever she talked with him. She made him laugh; she made him blush and even made him appreciate having her as a friend (despite probably having cooties or some other strain of strange germ known only to the female species). Once in high school, he never realized that he'd confused these memories with later ones acquired of Mary-Jane Watson. By the time he reunites with the old redheaded friend so often on his childhood mind, she's changed. She's fully grown, short-haired, famous and staying out of people's heads who don't give them permission. The sense of connection they feel, he passes off as her psychic abilities and she dismisses as his natural 'aw-shucks' shy guy charisma, never realizing that both he and Jean Gray of the X-Men loved each other before they even knew the meaning of the word.

2. No matter how much Peter Parker angsts and wishes and dreams and wants, he can't remember either one of his parents well enough to miss them for more than the possibility of what might've been. His kindly aunt, the woman who took him in, who he came to depend on after her husband's death, means more to him than any mere parent ever could. They both know this, and it is why they both so studiously avoid too much open discussion of his…extracurricular activities.

3. Those who knew them when they were dating in high school would've described the relationship between Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson as "fairy tale" "old married couple" and "baffling." They hook up, they break up, they get close, they get awkward, they get angry, they get sad, sometimes all in the same month. Once their basic education is over however, it will Peter who once again breaks it off, but this time for good. He tells many different variations of the same story, none of which are the truth. The honest to god reason, when he really lies in his bed looking at the ceiling and reflecting on it all in one of his rare moments of honesty with himself, is that he was using her. Not sexually, they never even got that far. No, he was using her to sooth his riled feathers and using her to provide himself with a sense of pseudo-normality in a life that resembled an old carnival ride whose screws had gotten a little bit too rusty and rides a little too wild, even for the more willing of the passengers. Just like she didn't understand the first time he broke it off, or the subsequent times, so she doesn't understand now. But she shows how far they have both come. A simple smile, a hug between friends and a soft whisper of I know when he tries to get the words out to explain, to justify, to reason, to rationalize. And that hurts him, even if he knows it to be for the best. He's made her life into a roller coaster, and she still has the grace and dignity to accept his decision on this, even without understanding, without agreeing. He supposes that should tell him something about the depth of their trust. But for the life of him, he refuses to try and figure it out for fear he'll try to return to the beaten path, to reclaim something that he knows from hard experiences doesn't work.

4. When Gwen Stacy first moved in with him and his Aunt, Peter Parker thought he'd found a kind of sister from a different family. She stood up for herself and for others, she didn't question his late nights and in fact had helped him cover his hide several times. He loved her as he would've the sibling that never was, and it was enough for him. But it wasn't enough to save her, and that more than anything else is what haunts him during those more and more frequent sleepless nights.

5. Susan Storm was everything Peter could've hoped for in a woman. She was attractive, intelligent, fairly social and most of all, **understood the superhero profession and what it could potentially entail**. When he was first introduced to her by Johnny, he'd practically had to bite his tongue to stop the unprofessional gushing of how advanced and amazing the work she and Reed Richards did together was. He did reveal himself to be a big fan mostly due to the slight lack of social coordination that had been with him since childhood. Sometimes he allowed himself a little fantasy about what it would've been like to be with Susan herself. He would get to know the Fantastic Four quite well the older he got and the more he worked with them. He understood the depth of the commitment that was present between her and Reed. (He would find something similar himself later on.) But it never stopped him from thinking and wondering: "What if?"

6. When Peter Parker first met Jessica Drew, it had been under extremely tense circumstances to say the least. Having her reveal herself as a female clone of him, having found out that Doc Octopus had been the one paid to create clones of him and having seen a deranged, psychotically obsessive version of himself inject OZ into Mary-Jane's bloodstream in an effort to keep her "safe." But when he meets up with her years later, he realizes something else. He loves her in a way he can't quite explain. It certainly isn't sisterly, but it doesn't quite go into romantic territory. He loves her, he supposes, as he loves himself. But they both know that's not right. He doesn't blame her for the memories she has. He doesn't blame her for the stupid actions and bone headed decisions she remembers making. In a way, he supposes he loves her as he can never love himself. And though neither of them have pushed to find the boundaries of their relationship, they remain close enough that even Peter's future wife will feel uneasy with their closeness and intimacy with each other.

7. When they first met, he was wearing his now famous mask and she was with two of her teammates helping to restrain a teenager who didn't know any better than to blow up a car right outside of a local store. The second time they officially met, she found him at his school in Queens. They talked and they formed a tentative connection between geeks. They got together; they dated for a time, but then separated abruptly due to unresolved issues on his part. Despite this setback however, Peter Parker and Kitty Pryde remained extremely close friends even when they found relationships with others. Until eventually, they cycle back to each other. It takes several failed relationships (some due to non-comprehension of the meta-human lifestyle, others due to being plots to get them, and yet still others that were merely one night stands) for them to come back to each other. This time however, despite their problems and formerly unresolved situations, they manage to pick up almost exactly where they left off. It sticks the second time around, and while it is never an easy love, it is one that genuinely works. And in the end, Peter reflects wryly, that's all he can really ask for in this life. To have things, not as he would have them, but as they work.

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A/N: Yeah…could've been better but also could've been worse. Read, review, fall asleep, do what you must. Any ideas however on things to examine in the Amazing Spider-Man's life would be greatly appreciated however. Excelsior! No wait, I didn't-Ow! Stop hitting me guys, no, don't AAAAUGH!


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